Continental 10
3635 S. Monaco Parkway,
Denver,
CO
80237
3635 S. Monaco Parkway,
Denver,
CO
80237
9 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 52 comments found
AT & Cliff…
The original first-run of “Star Wars” back in 1977/78 started at COOPER, and then in mid-December when “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” opened, it was moved to CONTINENTAL where it continued for another six months.
05.25.1977 … Denver, CO â€" Cooper (29 weeks) Dolby Stereo (70mm-Dolby Stereo from Aug.)
12.14.1977 … Denver, CO â€" Continental (26 weeks) 70mm-Dolby Stereo
The Continental Theatre has been operating for at least 43 years (since around 1965) and though it became part of United Artists then Commonwealth in the late 70’s, at least a third of its life was spent as either one of the three independent Continental Theatres, or with Cooper/Highland Theaters (as of about 1972-3). One third is a pretty significant chunk of time, and it was through these years that the theater established itself in the community and set exhibition standards.
Then again, you may be right that most people are only familiar with the later stages of the building’s life. (After all, London has been around for centuries, though most people today never experienced a time when it didn’t have a McDonald’s.)
No doubt the Continental played Star Wars in 70MM, and even doing so nearly a decade after its release counts. But the fact that Cooper/Highland management decided to premiere the original at the Cooper instead of the Continental speaks to that fallow period in the theater’s history.
There have been times when, for whatever reason, the theater didn’t always use the D-150 lens — sometimes because of a film’s odd image ratio, sometimes because of screen or curtain problems. When that happened, and the full screen was not used, it did seem like a postage stamp on the wall. But when the full expanse of screen was employed (it was the third largest screen in a commercial theater when it opened, after all), the result was awesome. During the run of “Sound Of Music”, we’d send rookie ushers to seat late arrivers towards the front of the house — invariably they’d glance at the images of flying over the Alps in the opening sequence and get vertigo… stumbling over their feet to make their way up the aisle to the amusement of everyone. It was that enormous, filling the peripheral vision of those in the front rows.
Would a stadium seat help the presentation of a film in the Continental? Toss a coin. But it would negatively affect the audio dynamics of the auditorium… and it would certainly diminish the sense of grandeur and grace that are rarely available anywhere. Even in a temporal town like Los Angeles, the City Council and the audiences wouldn’t allow that sort of modification to their Cinerama Dome or Chinese Theater.
Sometimes it’s not what you do TO a theater, but what you do WITH it that determines its commercial value and protects the cultural history of the community. This effort, alas, is usually not the priority of large theater chains who don’t always have the time or attention to maximize a venue with anything other than a cookie cutter. Stadium seats weren’t integrated with the original design not because the technology was unavailable, but because it changes the experience aesthetics. That appreciation is subjective… and probably orchestrated by common contemporary experience.
AT,
I suppose you refer to my original theater description when you say that the Continental didn’t premiere the original Star Wars. That’s true, they didn’t. But I didn’t say premiere. I said played, which is true. In March of 1985, the Continental held a special charity 70mm triple-feature and again in May of 1990, the ran a week-long 70mm engagement of the original trilogy where they again gave the box office proceeds to charity (I know, I was there for the Tuesday show- It was the week before Total Recall opened). Jedi (as you know) is the only Star Wars film that premiered at the Continental (until the prequels, that is).
And for being part of the Commonwealth chain, it most certainly was from the late-1970s until the theater became United Artists. While I have no doubt that it was only part of the Continental trio at its birth, during the period of time that most people would remember this theater, it was with Commonwealth and then UA.
As for the remodel of the main house, I’m not really sure how that sits with me either. I really do love that theater. But as much as I love it, the main problem I remember having with that auditorium (and I haven’t been there in a few years- more of a Chinese, Dome, Aero, Village guy now), the auditorium is so large that any seat in the back third of the theater feels really far away from the screen. That’s a benefit of having such great row spacing, but I can remember coming back from the bathroom (happily still the original before the added theaters- hopefully they don’t change them) and walking into the auditorium and think how incredibly far away the screen was from the back of the theater. If they can help minimize that without forgoing the row spacing (don’t know that that’s physically possible) they might be able to improve it. But it’s probably better to leave well enough alone.
It would be great to see some films on that big beautiful screen in 70mm again! Other cities in the US and around the world continue to show 70mm.
I’ve already stated that I don’t think the renovation is necessary, BUT…
I also think that Regal has done and is doing an outstanding job with the Continental.
They could have easily chopped the main house into a bunch of smaller auditoriums instead of adding onto the building.
During the upcoming renovation, they are preserving the giant screen, and even have a poster up about it.
They book almost all of the biggest blockbusters on the giant screen, and they clearly advertise which films are on playing there.
AND, you can catch classic films on the giant screen on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings (sometimes) through their Flashback Features program.
I caught Wall-E there recently and found the presentation to be spectactular, and I’m looking forward to Back to the Future later in July.
When I spoke w/ an employee about the renovations recently, the impression I got was that they wanted the auditorium to feel more “modern.” Even though I don’t agree with that assessment, I can see how it would be important to the bottom line, because of the perceptions of the average movie-goer who walks in off the street, and never visits a site like Cinematreasures.
I may change my tune after the renovations (hopefully not!), but for now, I’m optimistic, and thrilled to see movies at the Continental.
Cheers,
Jonesy
www.OnTheBigScreen.net
Sounds like a typical middle-management decision.
The only reason to renovate with stadium seating at the Continental is to compress the amount of space between the last row and the screen — allowing for more lobby area to accommodate additional snack sales.
Back in the 1970’s, when the film “Barry Lyndon” was about to be released, Stanley Kubrick sent out teams of theater inspectors to measure the distance between rows of seats. He understood that his film was quite long, and that the comfort of the audience in the theater would be key to their enjoyment of the film. His team approved of two theaters in Denver: the Century 21 on Colorado Blvd, and the Continental. At that time, Mann Theaters had more $$ for the film rental guarantees, and got the engagement. (Unless you were aware of the, um, “product split” that was going on at the time.) Today it would be difficult to imagine a filmmaker with either the clout or the interest to make such demands. And apparently, exhibitors lack the imagination to find ways of increasing revenue without destroying the atmosphere that brings audiences to theaters in the first place.
Unless we decide to be happy with our hi-def home flat screens, I suggest a campaign championed by AFI, the cultural departments of the city of Denver, or just a good old fashioned press event staged outside the Continental for the benefit of the local TV stations.
Regal strikes again. A shame. Regal is truly the McDonalds of movie theatres. No style, no originality. Just Happy Meal McMovies in a plain brown box!
Ryan, Thanks for the update, And I agree with you. Hope the renovation gets cancelled.
An update to the remodel: The theatre now has 10 screens, but all are film. No digital cinema for the Continental yet. The 4 newest houses were outfitted with used projection equipment from the Regal warehouse. All 9 of the newer houses are now stadium seating, and unfortunately the next remodel will be to retrofit the original house to stadium seating. I can’t help but feel disappointed by this decision since, as Jonesy said, the large house has always had great sight-lines and is a wonderfully built auditorium. The current seat count in that house is 869 seats, expect that they will lose at least a couple hundred seats. Go see a film at the Continental before August! Hopefully, this renovation will get cancelled.
Chain should be changed to Regal Cinemas.
I understand that the large auditorium will be closed for renovation in August, with a scheduled re-opening in November. The carpet and wall coverings will be updated, and the seating will be re-structured to become “stadium” seating somehow.
It is my understanding that the screen will not be altered in any way.
I don’t quite understand the need to change the seating. I'v never been in a theatre with better sight-lines or row spacing. Hopefully the changes will all be postive and minimal.
That’s very true about the louvered Cinerama screen at the Cooper. However the problem with the 35 to 70MM blow-up of Star Wars was the muddied focus as the film grain was simply magnified in the quick-and-dirty process to rush larger format prints to the market. (Another reason it was digitally enhanced later in life.) The Continental enjoyed a true D-150 screen that was carefully curved for the dimensional effect — part of the specs demanded by Michael Todd when he was promoting an anamorphic alternative to the three-projector Cinerama process. As discussed here earlier, the Continental Theatre(s) were built for the three projectors (and fourth audio unit), but changed their hardware after construction for the single, switch-over 70MM system.
Comment on Harold’s entry above: Technically speaking, Cinerama screens were louvered not to reflect the the picture onto the audience, but to reduce cross-reflection from one side of the deeply curved screen to the other. The louvers allowed some light to escape, preventing a washed out appearance of the image.
Harold — as one of the original Assitant Managers of the Denver Continental, I can attest that even the doormen were required to wear tuxedos to work there. When I started working there, I was attending a local high school, and wore the tux shirt to school so that I had less to change when I rushed to the theater to work the matinees… and it being a time of more outlandish hippie attire, the ruffled shirt really fit in to the whole aesthetic with beads and jeans (before dressing up for the job!). But in response to an earlier post: The Continental in Denver did not premiere the original Star Wars. That was at the Cooper Cinerama Dome, and it was initially presented in 35MM. After a few weeks, an extra 70MM print was struck and used… but the 35MM actually looked better on screen. The effects work was shot in 35MM (with the camera turned 90-degrees for more negative area), as was the overall picture itself. The 70MM prints were just 35MM blown-up, so they looked “soft” on the big screen, though the six track audio made up for some of the diminished picture. (It was very easy to see the occasional poor matting on the action sequences.) As far as 35MM presentations at the Continental, not only were the original theater lenses made for the specific throw of the house (including the curved screen installed for the D-150 effect), but the aperture plates on the projectors had to be re-filed by the projectionist to accommodate showings of earlier Academy Frame prints that were still available for classic films — some of which included a special Tom Mix Film Festival that Harold’s grandfather asked us to present.
All three Continental Theatres (Tulsa, OKC, Denver) were built by my grandfather R.L. Barton who owned Barton Theaters. BTW: he was not an oil man but made his fortune in real estate. It was his attempt to bring back audiences by providing a “classy” movie experience. My father served as the original manager for the first Continental in OKC and had to wear a Tuxedo eveny evening. The concession served juices and imported candy (not popcorn) to try and enhance the upper class experience. It was designed with state-of-the-art equipment and featured a cinerama screen composed of hundreds of vertical strips of reflective material set on a curve to precisely reflect the picture onto the audience. I watched it being built and went to the grand opening. The booth in the OKC Continental had a door that oppened into the auditorium about 12 feet above floor level so that the huge 70mm film cans could be moved to/from the booth.
Thanks for the updates everyone. I was an assistant manager at the original Continental and then when it reopened as a six-plex. I was sent to the Greenwood Plaza and the Cooper 5 during reconstruction to hire and train new staff members. That opening week was hell as we were so busy and understaffed. We were hiring as quick as we could.
I always thought the original Cooper was better but am so proud to have worked at the old Continental and still love the old auditorium. Hope the new seats don’t ruin it.
Any new info on the large auditorium renovation?
We need to remember, this is the last standing original big screen movie theater in Denver area. How can we get Regal cinemas to do a 70mm revival at the Continental.
Exploring this website to some extent I find other original large screen theaters around the country do this. LA, Santa Monica, Seattle, Austin. Why can’t Denver. I think we have a crowd that would support it. I go to the Continental on Wednesdays to see their flashback features, and to see a full house during a run of Jaws, Raiders, American Graffiti was a joy.
I remember at one time this city was always playing a first run feature in 70mm if it was available. Let see the Continental used for it intended purpose. We sadly lost one of the best movie houses in the world, the fabulous Cooper, Let appreciate the Continental.
AT – That is a very intresting bit of information about W.A. using “Church of the Risen Christ’s” facade for his “Sleeper” movie. I’ll have to go and rent the movie. I understand that area is quite bulit up now. I’m going to try one of these days to get back and see the area. I have very fond memories of my elementary school years there grades 4-6. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I was also living in that area in 1969 and recall the limited occassions when the Continental was used by this congregation. As I recall, when the “Church of the Risen Christ” was completed, it featured a very modernistic architectural front… and in a supreme bit of irony, Woody Allen used this church’s fascade as a set in the early sequences of his film “Sleeper”, which premiered at the Continental Theatre a few blocks up the street.
My family moved to the South East area – Hutchinson Hills in Denver in 1969. I recall attending Sunday mass at this theatre while construction was taking place on a new church being built – “Church of The Risen Christ” on Monaco Pkway. Does anyone else recall this? I remember the seats being very comfortable. By any chance would anyone have any pictures of this theatre to share. I would enjoy seeing some.
My understanding is that the 70MM projector would need new aperture plates & a new mag sound head in order to be up and running again.
This is the last remaining Continental Theatre. The Continental in Tulsa was torn down in 1981, and Oklahoma City’s was razed only a few months back.
All three designs were exact duplicates of one another. Seen on site below are photos of the one in OKC -
http://cinerama.topcities.com/ctcontinental.htm
An update on the planned expansion of this theatre: There will be 4 new auditoriums added for a total of 10. The added houses from the 2005 expansion will be converted to stadium seating and the new 4 houses will be built as stadium seating. Because of the loss in seats with the conversion, the total seat count for 10 houses will be marginally greater than the current number of seats with 6. The plan is for the Continental to be all digital. The current 6 houses will be capable of 35mm and digital and it is unlikely that the new 4 houses will be equipped with any film projection equipment. The original giant auditorium will be mostly untouched. The 70 mm Norelco projector has gone unused for many years and may be removed for a digital projector. I do not know of any digital cinema projector capable of filling a curved screen of that size, but if it exists it will surely be very expensive. Hopefully cost cutting will not lead to a poor use of such a beautiful screen. This remodel has still not begun as of June 2007, but Regal plans to start “any day now”.
Starting Mid-April 2007, the Continental is getting a major facelift. Additional auditoriums (2, I think) are being added via a building expansion, all the theaters (except the main house) are being upgraded to stadium seating and the main auditorium is getting new carpeting and seats. The work is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2008 and the complex will remain open throughout construction.
Papibear, the main auditorium was not twinned or otherwise reduced in size. (A few seats were removed for ADA compliance.) The new auditioriums were built alongside the existing structure, and have allowed the theatre to thrive in the modern film booking environment.
The Main House offers the biggest screen and best presentation of any cinema I know. (Though I’d love to hear about others that are equal or better!)
They still book the “biggest” releases and even ran a fantastic revival series in 2006 on Wed PM and Sat AM.
The Continental is a true Cinema Treasure.